Arturia sees red

MiniBrute and MicroBrute get a makeover

It's only the casing that's changed, though - the actual feature set is the same as it ever was

French synth maker Arturia's MiniBrute and MicroBrute are now available in an eye-catching bright red livery.

When Arturia launched the MiniBrute monophonic analogue synth in 2012, it helped kickstart a new era in analogue synthesis. Instead of hunting down battered old 70s warhorses or relying on digital emulation, those in search of squelchy analogue sounds now had an affordable, portable option that was built to take advantage of modern technological advances while delivering the authentic sounds of yesteryear. Numerous similar offerings from other companies followed in the MiniBrute's wake, proving so popular that in 2014, Arturia added the MicroBrute to its range - essentially an even smaller, even more portable take on the same concept. And now Arturia is offering the two synths in a new colourway, but the synths themselves remain unchanged.

Both machines are monophonic with a 100% analogue signal path. Both feature a voltage-controlled oscillator, sub-oscillator, oscillator mixer and a Steiner-Parker two-pole multimode filter. Both feature mod and pitch wheels, an external analogue audio input, and MIDI and USB MIDI in/out. As for key differences, the Mini boasts two LFOs, two ADSR envelope generators, a 25-note semi-weighted keyboard with aftertouch and a four-mode arpeggiator, while Micro users will have to be content with one LFO, one ADSR envelope generator, a 25-note non-weighted keyboard (minus aftertouch) and a step sequencer in place of the arpeggiator.

Both synths are available now, priced €399 for the MiniBrute RED and €299 for the MicroBrute RED. For more information, see Arturia.com